Chapter 21 – The Ghost in the Storm
The storm refused to let up. Rain hammered the rooftop, washing away the blood that had pooled from the brutal fight. The city below flickered with neon lights, their reflections distorted by the water streaming down the concrete.
Subey stood near the edge, his breath shallow, his body aching. He wiped rain from his face, but his hands were shaking. It wasn't from exhaustion. It was something else.
John was gone.
At least, he should have been.
The fall had been brutal. No one could have survived it. But even as Caroline stood beside him, staring at the dark alley below, there was no sense of closure. Instead, an eerie tension settled over them like a thick fog, suffocating and inescapable.
Caroline took a shaky breath. "We need to see the body."
Subey hesitated. A part of him screamed in agreement, but something inside him—a deep, unshakable instinct—told him that wasn't a good idea.
Something wasn't right.
Then, he saw it.
A smear of blood.
It trailed from the center of the rooftop, streaked and uneven, as if someone had been dragged.
Subey's stomach tightened. That didn't make sense. John had gone over the edge. There shouldn't have been any blood leading away from where he fell.
Caroline saw it too. "That's not… possible."
Subey forced himself to think rationally. "Maybe it's from the fight," he muttered, though he didn't believe it.
But Caroline wasn't listening. Her gaze flickered toward the rooftop access door—the only other way down. It was old, rusted, and had been locked when they first arrived. Now, something was different.
It was slightly ajar.
A metallic creak echoed through the rooftop as the door swayed in the wind.
Someone had opened it.
Subey's hand instinctively went to the switchblade in his pocket. His fingers tightened around the handle. "Caroline," he said quietly. "We're not alone."
Then, a sound cut through the rain.
A slow, deliberate click.
A lock being disengaged.
Caroline sucked in a breath, taking a step back. "Who's there?"
Silence.
The door shifted slightly, pushed by the wind. A shadow loomed behind it, just out of sight.
And then, lightning flashed.
For a brief moment, the rooftop was bathed in white light. And in that instant, Subey saw it.
A figure stood in the doorway.
Tall. Cloaked in darkness. Their face obscured by the angle of the dim security light above.
The light flickered, and just as quickly as the figure appeared, they vanished back into the shadows.
Subey's pulse pounded in his ears. He and Caroline exchanged a glance. Neither spoke, but the fear in her eyes mirrored his own.
Then, a voice.
Calm. Measured. Almost amused.
"You should have left when you had the chance."
Caroline gasped. Subey's grip tightened on his blade. His mind raced. Who was this? How had they gotten up here?
And most importantly—what did they know?
The figure took another step forward, emerging slightly into the dim glow of the rooftop lights. Their features remained obscured, but something about their presence sent a shiver down Subey's spine.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
No response.
The wind howled, whipping against the buildings. The figure simply stood there, watching. Waiting.
And then—without warning—they moved.
Fast.
Before Subey could react, the rooftop door slammed shut.
The sound echoed through the storm.
Subey lunged forward, but by the time he reached the door, it was locked again.
Caroline gripped his arm. "Subey, what's happening?"
He didn't answer. He was already moving, scanning the area for another way down. His mind raced.
Whoever that was—
They had been waiting.
For them.
And that meant…
This wasn't over.
It was only beginning.
Minutes Later The Alley Below
The rain continued to pour, collecting in puddles along the cracked pavement. A flickering streetlight cast long shadows against the brick walls.
A lone figure stood in the darkness.
Dripping wet. Clothes torn. Blood trailing down his face.
John.
Alive.
He exhaled slowly, pressing a hand to his ribs. The fall should have killed him. It nearly had. But he had landed just right, broken enough to hurt but not enough to die.
And he hadn't been alone.
Someone had pulled him from the wreckage.
Someone who had been waiting.
A figure emerged from the shadows, stepping into the dim light.
The same figure Subey and Caroline had seen on the rooftop.
John's lips curled into a smirk. "You always had a way of showing up at the right time."
The figure didn't respond immediately. Then, in a low voice, they said, "It's time."
John nodded. His fingers curled into fists. His body ached, but his mind was sharp. He wasn't done yet.
Not even close.
Subey thought he had won.
But the real game was....
To Be Continued....
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